German Riffonauts BLACK SPACE RIDERS are proud to announce the January 26th release of new album Amoretum Vol. 1.
The internationally acclaimed predecessor Refugeeum brought the band renown with its mixture of thoughtful, sensitive themes and hard, atmospheric rock. Two years have passed since then, two years in which the world has not necessarily become a better place in the eyes of most people.
War, terror, displacement, destruction, rejection and nationalism dominate the headlines. Or, as a wise little green fellow once said: "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."
"All you need is love", countered the BEATLES in 1967. The response of BLACK SPACE RIDERS in 2018 is Amoretum, a made-up word comprising "amor" and "arboretum" to symbolize a protective garden and a germ seed of love. And so the new song cycle of BLACK SPACE RIDERS is all about the conflict between fear-hate-rejection-darkness on the one hand, and love-empathy-care-light on the other. For, how else should we overcome hate, if not with love?
Musically, this conflict is consistently put into practice by a band that beats its own path and is constantly developing. The electronic experiments of the Beyond Regugeeum EP of 2016 have been reduced sonically and cleverly integrated into the powerfully sounding songs. Between fat, dirty riffs and trippy delays, everything that sounds good is allowed; the album is interspersed with a flowing groove throughout and an ever-present atmosphere that embraces the listener. Heavy, sometimes proggy, often psychedelic, always engaging and almost catchy and danceable, Amoretum Vol. 1 takes us by the hand, shows us the dark side, and then wants to give us the hope back that we so often painfully miss.
The album flows from song to song as if from a single cast. The listener wonders after 45 minutes whether everything is really already over, and wants to go back to the beginning again immediately.
But of course everything is not over after 45 minutes in the world of BLACK SPACE RIDERS. The band also announces a second chapter for 2018 ... Amoretum Vol. 2 is waiting for us, while we are looking forward to Amoretum Vol 1.
ONLINE
http://www.blackspaceriders.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BlackSpaceRiders/
https://twitter.com/BlackSpaceRider
http://blackspaceriders.bandcamp.com/
http://www.reverbnation.com/blackspaceriders
https://plus.google.com/100173386470941990586
https://myspace.com/blackspaceriders/
LINEUP
JE: Lead Vocals, Guitars, Organ, Beats
SEB: Lead vocals
C.RIP: Drums, Percussion
SLI: Guitars
SAQ: Bass Guitar
HEVO: Additional Bass Guitar
BIOGRAPHY
"Founded in late 2008 by JE, SLI, SAQ and C.RIP, BLACK SPACE RIDERS embarked on a mission to discover their very own claim in the vast quadrants of heavy music. Their means have been well-chosen from the beginning: The power of the almighty riff. An organic, timeless sound, oozing with atmosphere, that shifts effortlessly from crushing heavyness to the quietest moments of introspection, and all the spaces in between. Enormous supplies of drive and groove. A keen sense of purpose and direction.
Their journey is marked by milestones in the form of their previous, internationally acclaimed records: 2010's self-titled debut, bursting with conviction. „Light Is The New Black“ (2012) demonstrates their ability to explore diverse moods without missing their unique trademarks even for a split second. 2014's „D:REI“ – the first album to fully integrate new band member SEB as the second lead singer – fathoms the depths and nuances of their sound with more detail than ever before. All records have been accompanied by powerful and engaging live shows.
BLACK SPACE RIDERS latest album REFUGEEUM shows the band's attention to the here and now. In the pivotal year of 2015 the band do not turn their eyes toward escapism – as you might expect of a group often dealing with sci-fi related subject matter - but to events on our own planet Earth. REFUGEEUM conveys themes that are both current and universal: eviction, the loss of family, friends and one's former life. Being preyed upon. Isolation. But also hope, persistence and the absolute will to survive. These topics have been echoing within BLACK SPACE RIDERS music from the very beginning and to an increasing degree – now with a minute adjustment of the lyrical lens they make for a very powerful statement. What might appear as a „change of direction“ is an application of the band's thematic core to the most relevant perspective.
Musically BLACK SPACE RIDERS have become a well-honed entity. On REFUGEEUM their hard rocking foundation stays firmly in place, while their knack for sonic exploration provides a wide spectrum of moods that complement the album's central themes. The record features some of the darkest moments the band has ever created, yet at the same time is astonishingly uplifting and empowering, inspiring and reassuring. The arrangements are masterfully varied - explosive four minute bangers, sprawling epics, subtle tension crawls, calmness in the eye of the storm, psychedelic vibe – it's all there. You might even find the occasional electronic beat, thinking nothing about it except how perfect a fit for the moment it is.
Now in 2016 REFUGEEUM is expanded by a complementary collection of songs in the form of BEYOND REFUGEEUM EP. While being a close companion to the album thematically, BEYOND REFUGEEUM is a satellite release in terms of songwriting and style. Four new, previously unreleased songs from the same recording session as REFUGEEUM and two remixes show the band broadening the palette of their sound even a little further. While still unmistakably rooted in BLACK SPACE RIDERS own traits and accessible as ever, these songs orbit into - for example - the realms of synthscapes and even a surprising bit of funk.
BLACK SPACE RIDERS have claimed their territory and made it into a REFUGEEUM for those in need. Welcome."
DISCOGRAPHY
2010: s/t
2012: Light is the new black
2014: D:REI
2015: Refugeeum
2016: Beyond Refugeeum
2018: Amoretum Vol. 1
2018: Amoretum Vol. 2